“Katerina, are you planning on taking that entire bag of shoes with us on vacation?” Elijah queried, edging cautiously in Katherine’s direction.

Katherine turned her head ever so slightly toward him, arching a perfectly plucked eyebrow in response.

“Yes… and?”

“You are aware that Niklaus and Caroline have invited us on a skiing expedition?”

“Is there a point you’re trying to make here ‘Lijah?” Katherine asked with a bored expression.

“I’m simply bemused as to why you feel the need to pack such excessive amounts of… footwear for one trip. To a place where we’ll be surrounded by snow no less,”

“Don’t be silly, Elijah. I have no intention of wading around in the snow, in £1000 boots. These-” she said holding up a pair of gold, strappy, heels. “-are for the cool nightclubs the place is bound to have scattered about,”

“I hope you’re not thinking of dragging me along with you,” Elijah asked wearily, taking down his suitcase from the shelf and unzipping it.

Katherine smirked and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

“If you’d only loosen up and have fun once in awhile-”

“I have plenty of fun, I’ll have you know,” he sniffed.

“Ah yes, afternoon tea at the ivory,” Katherine mocked, in an overly exaggerated British accent. “Is that your idea of fun?”

“Ignoring your crass attempt at mocking me,” Elijah began. “I would ask you as kindly as possible to refrain from over packing your belongings this time around, dearest. We wouldn’t want a repeat performance of the last… incident.”

“Alright, first of all, I don’t know what that bitch at the check in desk was thinking but I was nowhere near overweight. Just because her pathetic flight attendant salary isn’t enough to buy her a Louis V wallet, much less a luggage set! I’m telling you, Elijah, she had it out for me,” Katherine hissed.

“Yes dear, but just in case hmm?” he hummed, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Katherine huffed irritably before her pout curled up into a devious smirk.

“Are you looking forward to joining the mile high club?” she asked suggestively.

A/N: I adore this movie! I really think this could be an entire AU/AH fic, but I’ve done my best to condense it into 2 parts. I hope you enjoy it. Also, pretend Elena and Kat aren’t doppelgängers :)

Always, Always, Always a Bridesmaid

Caroline Forbes found her life’s calling at the ripe age of eight.

She was in the restroom waiting for her little sister, Elena, when her aunt Cathy rushed in crying. Her shoe had caught on the fabric of her floor length ivory wedding gown, tearing a small hole along the hem. It wasn’t noticeable to the naked eye, but to a bride, any snag in their perfectly planned day was a disaster on a monumental scale.

Seeing her aunt so distressed, Caroline came up with a plan immediately. She tugged a bobby pin from Elena’s hair and dropped to the ground at her aunt’s feet, quickly running the end through the fabric to form a makeshift closure. Eternally grateful for Caroline’s help, her aunt asked her if she would hold her train down the aisle.

As Caroline took her first steps on the white runway, helping her aunt walk towards the man who would be her husband in just a few short moments, she fell in love with weddings. She fell in love with the romance, with the decorations, with the planning, and with the dresses.

17 Years Later…

“I will pay you $200 to take me where I need to be tonight and wait at every place until I’m ready to head to the next one. Oh, and I’m going to need to change in the back seat, so no looking in the mirror – I’ll deduct $20 for each peek. Do we have a deal?”

Having accepted Caroline’s offer immediately, the cabbie sped off towards their destination.

Caroline glanced around the hall, sighing with relief. The flowers were perfect, the tables were perfect, everything was just perfect.

When her friend, April, told her she was getting married, Caroline quickly volunteered to help plan everything – after all she’d been a part of so many weddings in the past few years that she could plan one in her sleep. When her other friend, Jenna, also informed her of her upcoming nuptials a week later, Caroline couldn’t say no when asked to help with the planning.

That was how she found herself in not one, but two weddings on a warm night in May, paying a taxi to chauffeur her from one wedding to another all night.

April’s wedding was Chinese inspired with lanterns, orchids, and lotus flowers while Jenna’s wedding was much more traditional with silver and blue as the accent colors. So trying to pick makeup and hair that would work with both styles definitely proved to be a challenge.

“April, you make the most beautiful bride!” Caroline exclaimed.

“Thanks, Care! Did you meet my cousins from Texas? Johnny in particular I’d love for you to meet, he’s single and a great catch. I think you two would hit it off. Wouldn’t it be just great, after all the help you’ve given me, if I was able to hook you up with an amazing guy?” April gushed.

“You know it’s no trouble, April.” Caroline reassured her. “This is your day and I’m just glad I can be a part of it. And no, I haven’t met your cousins yet, but I’ll keep an eye out for them. I’m just going to run to the kitchens to check on the food.”

With that, Caroline dashed from the hall to the awaiting taxi cab. As she climbed in, she gave the word to head to the next wedding and began undressing. She was sure the driver didn’t see anything, but she didn’t notice the man standing by the entrance watching her actions.

Klaus had just arrived to cover yet another wedding – this one was for an April Young marrying the son of a senator, Tyler Lockwood. The Lockwood-Young wedding would be his 40th – unfortunately, he’d been over weddings since his 2nd. They were all the same, the over-the-top decorations, the fussy brides, the drunk relatives, and the foolish grooms. Without the open bars and friendly bridesmaids he seriously doubted he would have made it this long.

Tonight, however, he’d definitely gotten a lot more than he’d bargained for.

Originally written for an outrageously beautiful human being named Tori, I decided to post my 1000 word Elsanna drabble here, too. (Now also on ff.net)

Title: Ivories

Pairing: Elsanna, though not explicitly lovey-dovey in case you like the girls together but not together.

Summary: Anna hasn’t heard Elsa play the piano in years.

_________________________________________________________

Anna had been absentmindedly wandering the halls when she heard the foreign melody drifting from the ballroom. She had never had much of an ear for music, but the piano had always arrested her attention. Elsa used to play, and sometimes Anna could hear the pieces, muffled as they were, as she drifted off to sleep. The song that was traveling through the air captivated her. It was a rather slow piece, played delicately and precisely, almost as though the pianist was afraid to let too much emotion flow through the keys. The control with which it was delivered made the ballad seem almost haunting, and Anna followed its sound, silently opening the door to find Elsa at the piano. She was unsurprised, but moved nonetheless. It had been years since she last heard her sister perform, but she still held such a reserved mastery of the ivories that there was no mistaking her style.

The redhead crept forward, doing everything in her power not to interrupt the piece. She simply couldn’t keep herself at bay in the doorway.

“Anna, don’t lurk,” Elsa reprimanded, a teasing hint in her voice. Her eyes remained fixed on the piano, but it was clear that her focus had been successfully captured by her little sister. The song continued on without a fumble.

Taking the chastisement as an invitation, Anna sat on the bench beside her. She watched her sister’s pale fingers lightly dust the keys as they yielded the bizarrely poignant tune. Wrapping her arms around Elsa’s waist, she asked, “What’re you playing?”

Elsa had obviously not expected the question, and a small patch of color rose in her cheeks. “Oh… it’s nothing,” she dodged like an expert, this time showing that she needed to concentrate a little harder to maintain the detached quality.

The corners of Anna’s lips tugged into a slight pout, and she pressed herself closer to her sister, “It doesn’t sound like nothing.” At the contact, Elsa played the chord a little too loudly. She cleared her throat and kept playing. However, each note was infused with an audible melancholy that she scrambled to suppress.

Anna listened intently, impressed with her sister’s sense of artistry, but a little concerned with her tight lips. They hadn’t gotten into the habit of keeping secrets and Anna didn’t want to be the first one to push. Instead, she watched Elsa’s long digits and allowed her glance to flit occasionally to her face. The princess noticed that the blonde wasn’t following any sheet music and it appeared that she was drawing the piece from deep in her memory, if only for the infrequent concerned twitch of her eyebrow, as if she was afraid she would make a mistake. Anna decided to draw a conclusion, “When did you write this?”

Looking down at her sister with an amused expression, Elsa relented, “The night you thawed.”

That shut Anna up for several moments as she paid closer attention to the song, seeing as the queen had finally given up on holding back. What had started as a guarded and slow ballad had transformed into nothing short of a decadent requiem. The blonde really hadn’t needed to emphasize her performance to prove her point, and Anna’s heart hurt at every note. The beautifully layered soundscape barely hid the heartbreak. It made it painfully obvious what Elsa had been feeling in the moments after her sister’s sacrifice. Anna hadn’t really thought about it, truthfully, as she had been much too busy trying to monopolize Elsa’s time from there on out. The past was difficult to talk about, to say the least. Hearing Elsa’s grief and surrender resonating through the room only made it that much worse.

Feeling more than a little responsible, Anna removed herself from her sister’s side and reached up and gently placed her lips on her cheek. She moved close to Elsa’s ear to whisper, “Which you don’t have to worry about ever again.”

Elsa chuckled dryly, “Better control over my powers has nothing to do with the likelihood that you’re going to risk your life again.” There was a ghost of a smile on her face.

Anna blanched. The song had calmed down, apparently having moved on to their first embrace in years, but she couldn’t help mulling over the comment. She couldn’t have let Hans kill Elsa, and she reacted entirely on impulse. She hadn’t thought of what it would mean to her sister to be the one left behind. Anna huffed, “Yes, it was reckless. I’m sorry, but I love you, and that was the only thing I could think to do.”

Without taking her eyes off of the piano, the blonde countered, “I know, Anna. I swear it’ll never come to that again.”

Anyone who didn’t know the queen would have taken her tone as laced with anger. Her little sister, however, recognized the fear and the hint of self-loathing. Thirteen years inside one’s own mind can do that to a person. Anna nuzzled into Elsa’s collarbone and sighed, overcome with the need to apologize, but almost entirely at a loss for words.

“You don’t have to worry about me leaving you. Not after I’ve waited so long to get you back.”

At that, the music stopped entirely. The snow queen wrapped an arm around her sister and ran a hand through her strawberry blonde locks. She returned her right hand to the keys, saying, “I’ve got something else I think I’d much rather play for you.” This time, it was an intricate yet soothing lilt, and it seemed a little too complex to be accomplished with just five fingers, but she managed.

Anna looked up, noticing that Elsa was making no effort to free her left arm, “You’re seriously going to play like this?”

This time, Elsa’s smile was vibrant. She pulled the younger woman close, kissed her forehead and replied with an arched brow, “Do you really think I’d write you a lullaby that would require both hands?”